Mrs Armstrong said: "We hoped the inquest would bring all this to an end, but it's just made things worse as it's brought all the awful memories back and left us with so many unanswered questions.

"I don't understand how this could have happened. There's quite a few things that have come out in the inquest that we didn't know.

"We feel mixed-up now. We need a few days to get our heads together and decide what to do. We may take action against the park."

Teacher Caroline Elton, at Wet `n' Wild when Anthony drowned, told the Newcastle inquest she became concerned after seeing a boy underwater and had spoken to the lifeguard.

More than a minute later he was still underwater so she again spoke to Miss Blayney, who told her: "They have been doing that all day. Sitting on the bottom, holding their breath."

Miss Blayney eventually dived in after Anthony had been underwater for more than three minutes.

Mr Armstrong said: "At the inquest it was the first time we'd seen the lifeguard so that was quite difficult. If she had jumped straight in as soon as she'd noticed Anthony wasn't moving, he might still be alive.

"I can't understand it. They're professional people. I feel quite bitter. I need more answers about how this was allowed to happen."

Anthony's two sisters Emma, 12, and Shannon, two, are still devastated by his death.

Pathologist, Peter Cooper, told the inquest Anthony died from brain damage. Coroner, David Mitford, recorded a verdict of accidental death.